Books of the Month

Travel and Exploration. American Explorations in the Ice Zones, prepared chiefly from official sources by Professor J. E. Nourse, U. S. N. (Lothrop.) This volume is a compilation from the narratives of the various explorers from De Haven to De Long, and gives in a convenient form a survey of American arctic and antarctic researches. Professor Nourse lias introduced his volume well by a succinct statement of the conditions of arctic voyaging, and by a brief summary of the attempts at penetrating the polar seas, which led finally to the American effort. A convenient bibliography adds to the value of the book. The illustrations are of varying degrees of interest, being for the most part compiled like the narrative. A map shows conveniently the tracks of different voyagers. — Travels in Mexico and Life among the Mexicans, by Frederick A. Ober (Estes

& Lauriat), is divided into three parts: I. Yucatan; II. Central and Southern Mexico; III. The Border States. Mr. Ober is an enthusiastic traveler, who writes of what he has seen in more than one journey, and with a hearty interest in everything he sees. The book will prove of special value to those who are watching the progress of the new commercial invasion of Mexico. - Camping among Cannibals, by Alfred St. Johnston (Macmillan), is a lively account of travels in the South Pacific. The writer has the air of truthfulness, but he is not a born narrator, and there is a sameness about his successive adventures and the scenes which he witnesses. He has not the art and glow of Melville. — The War in Tong-King, by Lieutenant Sidney A. Staunton, U. S. N. (cuppies, Upham & Co.), is a useful pamphlet of fortyfive pages, explaining why the French are in Tony-King, and what they are doing there. The only objection to it is that if one: once reads it he cannot escape the column in his daily newspaper which he uuw skips.

History. Carl Ploetz’s Epitome of Ancient, Medieval, and Modern History has been translated and enlarged by William II. Tillinghast, (Houghton, Mifflin & Co.) It is a volume of facts, and its great value is in the grouping and arrangement of these facts. A very full index renders the book serviceable as one of reference, but its special service will be to teachers and students wlu> wish to pursue au independent course of historical study, and desire a clue through the mazes of history. The clearness of the plan and the apparent accuracy of detail make the book one of exceptional value. — The Campaigns of the Rebellion, by Albert Todd, First Lieutenant First United States Artillery (Printing Department, State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kansas), is a little eoinpeiul which gives au account of the principal operations of the principal armies. Lieutenant Todd lias carefully avoided any statement of the political issues involved in the war, and has made a very useful and clear narrative of military operations, lie takes the sensible ground that, whatever may be the value or lack of value to foreign soldiers in these operations, their history is of great importance to every American, since they constitute the precedents for any possible future contest.

Poetry and the Drama. Dolores, and other Poems, by Albert F. Kercheval. (A. L. Bancroft & Co., San Francisco.) Mr. Kercheval lias offered an octavo volume of more than five hundred pages, which includes also twoscore poems by his daughter. So much poetic flow supposes a pretty good head on, and Mr. Kercheval plays his hose upon a wide range of subjects. We find his humorous poems most entertaining, but we doubt if Mr. Blaine thoroughly enjoyed the burst with which he was greeted when be voted on the Chinese Restriction Bill. “Pride of our boast,"’ exclaims Mr. Kercheval, —

Shakespeare’s extremities also get mention in one of the serious poems, the first verse of which ends,—

— Injuresoul, a Satire for Science, by A. J. H. Dugaune (American Book-Print Co., New York), is aimed, as the reader has already guessed, at Colonel R. J. Ingersoll The gun is fired with so much racket, and such a cloud of smoke is raised, that it is difficult to say whether or not the object is hit. — The Retrospect, a poem in four cantos, by John Ap Thomas Jones. (Lippincott.) The author has thrown into verse form the memories of a grandam, which embrace recollections of historic times, though they are somewhat vague in outline. The poetry suppresses the history. — Herod, a Historical Tragedy in five acts, by Henry Iliowizi, (Minneapolis.) The author is a rabbi, and has turned the history of Herod info a tragedy, in which the tragic element is made emphatic by an immense amount of verbal gesticulation. — The Rhyme of the Lady of the Rock, and how it grew, By Emily Pfeiffer (Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., London), is an odd essay, inasmuch as it professes to give the circumstances and material out of which the author produced a poem. Thu comment, introductory and intercalary, is in prose; the poem is in verse. One has the author, her surroundings, her poem, her audience, all in one book, and this piece of ingenuity is not without much pleasant writing and description of Highland life. — The Macmillans have signalized their succession to the post of Tennyson’s publisher by issuing an edition of the Laureate’s poetical works in one handsome volume. This, however, does not include his last two dramatic poems, The Cup and The Falcon, which are printed in a separate volume, aiid printed for the first time, we believeThe Cup was produced at the Lyceum Theatre, under the management of Mr. Henry Irving, in 1881. and The Falcon was brought out at the St. James’s Theatre in 1879, with Mr. and Mrs. Kendal in the initial roles. Neither play achieved great success on tiie stage, though The Cup was admirably mounted and acted, and is not without fine dramatic qualities.

Education and Text Books. Schools and Studies is a collection of essays and addresses, by B. A. Hinsdale. (Osgood.) Mr. Hinsdale is a man of force, who is actively engaged in educational work, and who has the American schoolmaster’s genuine belief that no great subject comes amiss in the discussion of education. — The Essentials of Latin Grammar, by F. A. Blackburn (Ginn, Heath & Co.), is au attempt to “make a book small enough to be mastered by a beginner, and to arrange the principles of grammar contained in it as systematically as possible.” By a simple arrangement the author lias carried along his pages in large print the minimum amount to be memorized, and has used the space below the line for notes, illustrations, and references. An appendix of exercises is given.— Trent worth and Hill’s Examination Manuals (Ginn, Heath & Co.) is the title of two volumes, giving examples worked out and actual examination papers in arithmetic and algebra. — The Philosophy of Education, or the Principles and Practice of Teaching, by T. Tate, is an English work, introduced to Americans by Col. F. W. Parker. (Bardeen, Syracuse, N. Y.) Besides much philosophy there are many practical suggestions, which will, perhaps, render the first service to any teacher who takes up the book. — History of the United States in Rhyme, by Robert C. Adams (Lothrop), affords an opportunity of learning a good many dates at the risk of ruining a child’s ear for rhythm and rhyme. — Historical Recreations, by E. C. Lawrence (Bardeen, Syracuse, N. Y.), is the title of a little book apparently intended for aid to a teacher in giving pupils a little knowledge about a great many things. It is a desultory scrap-book, of doubtful usefulness. — Stories of the Old World is the title given to a selection of the stories told by Rev. A. J. Church, who has rendered such good service in familiarizing children with classic mythology and romance. The English is good, and the form is not difficult, though it seems sometimes unnecessarily archaic. The book belongs to a series of classics for children. (Ginn, Heath & Co.)—A System of Rhetoric, by C. Vi Ba V. S. Barnes & Co.), treats

the subject from pactieal rather than a scholastic point. It instructs the young how to talk, to write letters to send an account of what happened

in their village m a newspaper, to make orations, to write poetry and novels. The work is also useful as a jest-book and book of anecdotes. One really would acquire a vast deal of rhetoric while amusing himself.—The Elements of Political Economy, by Emile de Laveleye, translated by A. W. Pollard, and introduced by F. W. Taussig (Putnams), is designed as a manual of instruction. Professor Laveleye’s position is declared to be that of the moderate German school. Mr. Taussig adds a chapter on economic questions in the United States, in which cheapness is made the test.

Law and Government. Commentaries on Law, embracing chapters on the Nature, the Source, and the History of Law ; on International Law, Public and Private ; and on Constitutional and Statutory Law, by Francis Wharton. (Kay & Bro., Philadelphia.) Dr. Wharton’s general position is that written law registers the political and moral life of the people, and his work becomes thus extremely valuable to the historical student. It is impossible to treat the subject except by a reference to historic facts, and in the use of these Dr. Wharton is always interesting and readable.

— In the series The English Citizen (Macmillan), a recent number is The Land Laws, by Frederick Pollock, which is confined exclusively to a consideration of real property in England alone of the British Empire. The historical method is followed, and thus (lie book is of interest to all students of the general subject of tenant and landlord.

Art. The last quarterly number of L’Art (J. W. Bouton) would be a phenomenal number for any publication except L’Art, whose artistic and literary resources seem inexhaustible. The variety and freshness of this work are always its surprising points ; in neither respect does the present issue fall below the average. We have more of Lucien Gautier’s Striking etchings, —views, this time, of Port Royal, the old Port at Marseilles, the Hôtel de Ville of that city, and the Hôtel de Ville of Paris. Rudolph Ernst contributes a not too successful etching of one of his own canvases,

— His Only Son. The other plates in this kind are furnished by Euet, Billy, Laluze, Gaucheral, and Massé, who reproduces Mr. F. A. Bridgman’s admirable painting, Preparations at Cairo for the Departure of the Holy Carpet. There are also wood-engravings by Thiriat and Puvplat, a few steel-engravings, and a variety of cleverly done process-work. The most valuable articles in the number are the continuations of the papers on the Della Robbia ; the least valuable article in the number is M. Carteret’s chapter on the late international exhibition at Munich, in the course of which M. Carteret develops a vast and placid ignorance of the art situation in the United States. If he had been writing about England he could not have made more mistakes. This paper should have been printed twenty-live or thirty years ago. It has all the air of an exhumation. In future L’Art is to be issued fortnightly instead of weekly, and the subscription price per annum is reduced from $32 to s>12. — Miss Emelyn W. Washburn has prepared an outline of the history of painting in Spain, under the title The Spanish Masters. (Putnams.) She has used the works of authorities, hut not as a mere compiler, for she has drawn from her own travel and observation. The book is modestly conceived, and carried out witli an agreeable enthusiasm. It lacks the evidence of well-digested study, and has too many details for the ordinary reader without being complete enough for the learned student, but it is an essay in a somewhat fresh field.

Rcllyion and Philosophy. The Ideas of the Apostle Paul translated into their modern equivalents, by James Freeman Clarke. (Osgood.) Dr. Clarke, avoiding the technical in theological statement, undertakes to read Paul as an interpreter of current thought. lie asks the reader to reason with him over important questions, with Paul as a guide, and by the familiar and homely method which he uses goes far toward establishing an eirenicon. — Views on Vexed Questions, by William W. Kinsley. (Lippmcott.) The questions which vex the author are The Supernatural, Mental Life Below the Human, and When did the Human Race Begin? He has drawn illustrations from a wide range of reading, and brought the problems to the test of a reverent but cheerfully open mind. In the second part of his book betakes up more concrete topics. A vein of philosophy runs through (his portion also, and is an expression, mainly, of the belief in a God who, in creating, created germiinint powers which worked and continue to work in the direction of perfection.— Biogen, a speculation on the Origin and Nature of Life, by Professor Elliott Coues. (Estes & Lauriat.) We wish that the author had printed his little essay without making it so much like an effay. The difficulty of the subject is unnecessarily enhanced by the affectation of old-style type. One finds the very interesting essay a plea for the soul, but he nearly runs foul of that important entity every time he meets it.

Science. Darwinism Stated by Darwin Himself is the title of a volume composed of characteristic passages from the writings of Mr. Darwin. (Appleton.) It is a convenient way of giving to hasty readers a conception of the drift of Mr. Darwin’s teaching, and rather to lie trusted than the more comprehensive statement of some disciple of Darwin. — Flowers and their Pedigrees, by Grant Allen (Appleton), is an agreeable little volume, which essays a partial answer to the question why English wild-flowers are just what they are, and how they came to be so. — Energy in Nature, by Wm. Lant it Carpenter (Cassell), is a popular series of lectures on the forces of nature and their mutual relations, which have been thrown into chapter and booh form. The titles of the chapters are Matter and Motion,—Force and Energy ; Heat a Form of Energy ; Chemical Attraction, especially Combustion ; Electricity and Chemical Action ; Magnetism and Electricity; Energy in Organic Nature. — Mental Evolution in Animals, by George John Romanes, with a Posthumous Essay on Instinct, by Charles Darwin. (Appleton.) Mr. Romanes and Mr. Darwin were co-workers, and this volume contains the product of their investigations, together with some special results reached by Mr. Darwin alone. Man is included in the term animals.

Medicine and Hygiene. Illustrations of the Influence of the Mind upon the Body in Health and Disease, designed to elucidate the action of the Imagination, by Daniel Hack Take. (Leas.) This work is a full and very interesting collection of psycho-physical phenomena, and every intelligent reader will be likely to add illustrations from his own experience. The incidents drawn from literature are not the least interesting parts of the work. — Catarrh, Sore-Throat, and Hoarseness, a description of the construction, action, and uses of the nasal passages and throat, certain diseases to which they are subject, and the best methods for their prevention and cure, by J. M. W. Kitchen. (Putnams.) This is a brief manual of eighty pages of large print.— Female Hygiene and Female Diseases, by J. K. Shirk, M. D. (The Lancaster Publishing Co., Lancaster, Pa.), is designed by the author for the laity, and therefore is presented tolerably free from technicalities.

Fiction. Stories by American Authors is the title, of a series begun bv Messrs. Charles Scribner’s Sons, of which two parts have appeared. The volumes are neat little 16mos in yellow cloth, containing five or six stories each. The stories have all appeared in magazines, but the an have not heretofore collected them. The idea good one, although the material would seem likely to run short if the rule is adhered to of excluding all stories which have appeared in book form.— Times of Frederick I. is the fourth cycle of Swedish historical romances under the title of The Surgeon’s Stories, by Z. Topedius. (Jansen, Meclurg & Co., Chicago.) A slight thread is hung with very heavy pearls.—The Bowsham Puzzle is the title of a novel by John Habberton. (Funk & Wagnalls.) He was a woman all the while. — Carola, by Hesba Stretton (Dodd, Mead &Co.), is a novel with religious sentiment. — Messrs. Harpers have published Charles Reade’s story of The Picture; now famous as an awful example, in a small pamphlet. In their Franklin Square Series have appeared A Real Queen, by R. FI. Francillon ; Mr. Nobody, bv Mrs. John Kent Spender; The Pirate and The Three Cutters, by Captain Marryatt; Jack’s Courtship, by W. Clark Russell ; and An Old Man’s Love, by Anthony Trollope,

Books for 1oung People,. Cookery for Beginners, by Marion Mar land (Lothrop), bears the subtitle A Series of Familiar Lessons for Young Housekeepers. The successful cook-book maker has chosen a good field, but, O Marion Harland, how could you leave out instructions for making chocolate creams and caramels ? —Hints to our Boys, by Andrew James Symington (Crowell), is a book of good advice, somewhat too general in character, and constructed rather as a mosaic, the author contributing but a small portion of the contents, the chief part being quotations from useful and ornamental writers. — What Shall we Name it ? (John C. Stockwell. New York), a pamphlet containing two thousand baptismal names, with their meaning and I lie country from which they originated, arranged under letters of the alphabet. It is a convenient little handbook before and after birth.